CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to paragraph 18 of Investing in Britain's Future, Cm 8669, produced in June 2013, how he intends to spend the £250 million allocated to broadband in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Edward Vaizey: With local match funding, the £250 million allocated to broadband in 2015-16 and 2016-17 will enable superfast broadband coverage to be extended to 95% of premises by 2017. The Department announced indicative funding allocations for local broadband project areas in February 2014. The first procurements for projects using this funding are now under way.

Cinemas

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the total number of cinemas in operation in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each year since 2010.

Edward Vaizey: The total number of cinemas in operation in the four nations in each year since 2010 is shown in the following table1.
	1 The regions are based on ISBN television regions and do not necessarily reflect the geographical region, for example, data for Wales also cover a small area of west England and data for Scotland also cover a small part of England around the Scottish border.
	
		
			 Region 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 England 544 571 587 577 
			 Wales 72 71 77 74 
			 Scotland 73 74 76 77 
			 Northern Ireland 27 29 29 28 
			 Total 716 745 769 756 
			 Source: Dodona Research, Beacon Dodsworth, Cinema Advertising Association, BFI RSU Analysis

Film

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the level of investment in British-produced films in each year since 2010 with budgets of (a) under and (b) over £500,000.

Edward Vaizey: The level of investment in British-produced films in each year since 2010 is shown in the following tables. The total UK spend is used as the nearest indicator of total investment.
	
		
			 (a) Films with a budget of less than £500,000 
			 £ million 
			  2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 
			 Co-productions 1.1 1.3 1.6 0.6 4.7 
			 Domestic 24.6 17.1 17.9 13.6 73.2 
			 Inward investment 0.5 0.2 3.1 0.2 4.0 
			 Total 26.2 18.6 22.7 14.3 81.8 
		
	
	
		
			 (b) Films with a budget of £500,000 or more 
			 £ million 
			  2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 
			 Co-productions 75.1 54.0 72.9 53.6 255.6 
			 Domestic 176.6 182.4 229.2 138.9 727.1 
			 Inward investment 1010.7 1070.1 620.3 868.1 3569.2 
			 Total 1262.4 1306.5 922.4 1060.6 4552.0 
			 Source: BFI

SCOTLAND

Sovereignty

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the total costs incurred (a) in his Department and (b) in the Government of the creation and production of the booklet, “What staying in the United Kingdom” means for Scotland.

David Mundell: The total UK Government cost to date of “What Staying in the United Kingdom Means for Scotland” is £723,501 (plus VAT).
	This works out at the equivalent of 30p per household for the entire process of design, production and delivery. Further detail will be published in the usual fashion in the Cabinet Office transparency returns.
	The Scotland Office incurred no costs in the production or creation of the booklet. Staffing costs were taken from existing Scotland Office budgets.

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department in the last parliamentary session did not receive a substantive answer by the time of the 2014 prorogation; and when each such question was first tabled.

David Mundell: None.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Cybercrime

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to tackle cyber-crime.

Karen Bradley: Combating cyber crime is a core part of the National Cyber Security Strategy, which is underpinned by the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) with £860 million of new investment over five years. The NCSP funds a range of work to tackle cyber crime, including strengthening law enforcement capabilities with the establishment of the National Cyber Crime Unit in the National Crime Agency, and cyber teams within each of the Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs) across England and Wales, as well as developing the capability of local police forces. It also funds the Cyber Streetwise campaign, and the Action Fraud reporting system for cyber crime that is run by City of London Police.

Domestic Violence: Dartford

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of (a) arrests and (b) convictions for domestic violence offences in Dartford constituency in each of the last five years.

Norman Baker: The information requested is not available.
	Data on arrests are reported to the Home Office on the basis of aggregated offence categories only, for example violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery. From these centrally reported categories it is not possible to separately identify arrests that involve domestic violence.

HM Passport Office

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) services and (b) jobs within the Passport Office were transferred to the private sector in the last five years; and when those transfers took place.

James Brokenshire: No jobs have been transferred from Her Majesty's Passport Office to the private sector in the last five years.

HM Passport Office

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the current total remuneration package is for the Chief Executive of HM Passport Office.

James Brokenshire: The Remuneration package for the Chief Executive of HM Passport Office is disclosed in full within the published annual report and accounts which is available on the website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/orr-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014
	Remuneration for 2013-14 will be published in the annual report and accounts which is due to be laid in the House before the summer recess.

HM Passport Office

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been paid in overtime and other costs incurred in the last three weeks due to changes in HM Passport Office.

James Brokenshire: The precise information requested by the hon. Member is not available. Overtime payments to staff are recorded by the month in which payment is made. In May 2014, Her Majesty's Passport Office incurred overtime costs of £964,742.

HM Passport Office

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much overtime has been paid to Passport Office staff at the Newport Passport Office since 2011.

James Brokenshire: Overtime costs relating to the Newport Passport Office from January 2011 to 2014 amount to £298,965.

HM Passport Office: Belfast

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will urgently increase the number of personnel working in the Belfast Passport Office.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office is identifying staff who could be temporarily redeployed to work with HM Passport Office during this very busy period.

Human Trafficking

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many calls the Metropolitan police human trafficking hotline received from victims of human trafficking in each of the last three years; and what the annual cost of running the hotline is.

Karen Bradley: The following table shows the number of calls received by the Metropolitan police human trafficking hotline since it was set up in June 2011.
	
		
			  Number of calls 
			 2014 (to 19 June) 29 
			 2013 41 
			 2012 52 
			 2011 (June to December) 34 
		
	
	The freephone hotline number (0800 783 2589) is funded by Stop The Traffik and therefore has no cost to the Metropolitan Police Service other than the £15 per month line rental.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to the Immigration and Security Minister dated 12 May 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr Rab Nawaz.

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 20 June 2014.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 22 April 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr A. Mehmood.

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 15 May 2014.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 12 May 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr Bhatti Akhter.

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 19 June 2014.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 12 May 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr Sebti Messaoud.

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 20 June 2014.

Passports

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people applied to the UK embassy in Dublin for British passports between 2011 and 2014.

James Brokenshire: This information is not held by the Home Office.

Passports

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what compensation the Passport Office provides to British passport holders who have faced increases on the cost of their flights because they have had to wait an extended period for a completed passport application.

James Brokenshire: HM Passport Office's policy on compensation can be downloaded from the website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/compensation-and-complaints-handling

JUSTICE

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether staff working for community rehabilitation companies will be able to (a) recall offenders and (b) write parole reports without consulting National Probation Service staff.

Jeremy Wright: The decision whether to recall an offender to custody continues to rest with the Secretary of State. Where a warning does not appear sufficient or appropriate, CRCs will be required to refer potential breaches to the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) with a breach report and a recommendation on the action to be taken. NOMS will take the final decision on behalf of the Secretary of State. The enforcement process for CRCs and the National Probation Service was described in detail in our published Target Operating Model.
	Offenders serving indeterminate sentences for public protection will be managed by the National Probation Service: the arrangements for Parole Board hearings during their recall period will remain unchanged. If recalled to custody, offenders allocated to the CRCs who are serving determinate sentences will continue to be managed by the CRC, unless their risk of serious harm increases to “high”. CRCs will need to provide information, as appropriate, to support the recall process and consideration of re-release.

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether (a) Serco and (b) G4S will be permitted to bid for community rehabilitation company contracts.

Jeremy Wright: G4S and Serco decided to withdraw from the competition to select lead providers of rehabilitation services.

Courts: Video Conferencing

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many sites for giving remote evidence are operational in England and Wales;
	(2)  how many (a) children and (b) vulnerable adult witnesses gave evidence remotely in 2013.

Damian Green: Facilities for remote video links are now available in 84 Crown court centres and 165 magistrates courts. These facilities enable the victim or witness to appear by video link from a different court location to that of the trial court.
	As part of the action plan to increase video usage across the criminal justice system, we intend to examine how to best extend use of remote links for vulnerable, intimidated and other priority victims, as defined by the Victims' Code.
	The Department does not hold a breakdown of child and vulnerable adult usage of remote links for giving evidence.

Health Professions: Crimes of Violence

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to ensure that attacks on health professionals are prioritised in the criminal justice system.

Jeremy Wright: All attacks on health professionals are deplorable. The criminal justice system is already equipped to deal with violent, threatening and abusive behaviour against those in public facing roles, including health professionals. The guidelines for assault offences specify that it is an aggravating factor for an offence to be committed against those who are either working in the public sector or who are providing a service to the public. An offence of this nature would therefore result in a more severe sentence. Tough punishments are available to the independent judiciary, who make their sentencing decisions based on the individual facts of the case.

Islam: Marriage

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Muslim Institute, (b) the Muslim Council of Great Britain and (c) the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain on the legal status of Islamic marriages in England and Wales.

Simon Hughes: I have not discussed the legal status of Islamic marriages with any of the organisations listed.
	There are no plans to change the law to recognise in English law Muslim marriages and divorces which do not conform to the Marriage Act 1949.

Islam: Marriage

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to provide support for and protect the rights of Muslim women in unrecognised marriages in England and Wales.

Simon Hughes: The Government are committed to the protection and promotion of the rights of women, families and children. This includes raising awareness of the legal consequences of 'religious only' marriages and encouraging mosques to register in order to be able to carry out legally recognised marriages in their various facilities.

Prisons: Closures

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much in capital receipts has been generated by the disposal of each prison closed since May 2010.

Jeremy Wright: Through the sale of three prisons we have generated capital receipts of over £30.8 million and, in doing so, avoided unnecessary costs.
	The following prisons have been sold since May 2010:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 HMP Ashwell (2012) 1.34 
			 HMP Latchmere House (2013) 22.5 
			 HMP Canterbury (2014) 7 
		
	
	In addition to these disposals, the lease for HMP Lancaster Castle was handed back to the Duchy of Lancaster in 2012. However, no capital receipt was generated from this.
	When disposing of surplus property assets the Ministry of Justice will always seek best value for money for the taxpayer.

Prisons: Employment

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many hours per week of purposeful activity was undertaken by offenders in each security category in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Work in prisons is a key priority to ensure prisoners are engaged purposefully while they are in custody. It also gives them the opportunity to learn skills and a work ethic which can increase their chances of finding employment on release, a key element to reducing reoffending.
	The number of prisoners working in industrial activity in public sector prisons increased from around 8,600 in 2010-11 (the first year for which figures are available) to around 9,700 in 2012-13. This delivered an increase in the total hours worked in industrial activities from 10.6 million hours to 13.1 million hours. Private sector prisons have also been supporting this agenda and have reported that they delivered over 1.5 million prisoner working hours in commercial and industrial workshops in 2012-13 which provided work for over 1,200 prisoners.
	In addition, there are substantial number of prisoners who work on tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning as part of the prison’s day-to-day running.
	Figures for public sector prisons are published in the NOMS Annual Report Management Information Addendum, available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225225/mi-addendum.pdf
	Figures for 2013-14 will be published in July.
	Our reforms to the incentives and earned privileges national policy framework came into effect in adult prisons on 1 November 2013. Prisoners will be expected to engage in purposeful activity, as well as demonstrate a commitment towards their rehabilitation, reduce their risk of reoffending, behave well and help others if they are to earn privileges.
	Information on purposeful activity in each prison and category of prison was published annually in the Prison Performance Digest up until 2011-12 and can be found at the following location:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/163299/prison-performance-digest-2011-12.xls
	The data were not collected at individual prisoner level and therefore it is not possible to break this historical data down by security category of prisoner.
	Please note that figures are not available after 2011-12. Purposeful activity was formerly a performance indicator for prisons, but was discontinued at the start of 2012-13. The indicator was not used in the day-to-day management of prisons and NOMS had concerns over the burden on the front line of collecting the information. Indicators introduced into prison SLAs in respect of rehabilitation, resettlement and work in prisons provide a better demonstration of efforts to prepare prisoners for release and reduce reoffending.
	Figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisons: Overcrowding

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what proportion of the prison population were in overcrowded accommodation on 1 April (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012, (e) 2013 and (f) 2014;
	(2)  what proportion of the prison population were sharing cells on 1 April (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012, (e) 2013 and (f) 2014.

Jeremy Wright: We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer. This Government have a long-term strategy for managing the prison estate which will provide more adult male prison capacity than we inherited from the previous Government.
	Crowding occurs when the number of prisoners in an accommodation unit exceeds the Certified Normal Accommodation in that unit. The average rate of crowding is published annually in the NOMS annual report and accounts.
	Figures for the years 2005-06 to 2013-14 are as follows:
	
		
			  Average rate of crowding 
			 2005-06 24.0 
			 2006-07 24.6 
			 2007-08 25.3 
			 2008-09 24.7 
			 2009-10 24.1 
			 2010-11 23.8 
			 2011-12 24.1 
			 2012-13 23.3 
			 2013-14 22.9 
		
	
	In 2013-14, the average number of prisoners held in crowded conditions decreased to 22.9% of the total population compared to 23.3% in 2012-13. This is the lowest level since 2001-02 and has come down from a high of 25.3% in 2007-08.
	While we collect the total number of prisoners held in crowded conditions we do not centrally record the overall numbers of prisoners who are accommodated in multiple-occupancy cells, be it crowded (eg two prisoners held in a cell designed for one) or not (eg two prisoners held in a cell designed for two). To identify the number of prisoners who shared a cell in each prison in England and Wales in each of the last five years would require manually going through prisoners' individuals records to identify each prisoner’s cell location in each prison in each of the last five years, which could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Overcrowding

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were in overcrowded cells on 1 April (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012, (e) 2013 and (f) 2014.

Jeremy Wright: We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer. This Government have a long-term strategy for managing the prison estate which will provide more adult male prison capacity than we inherited from the previous Government.
	Crowding occurs when the number of prisoners in an accommodation unit exceeds the Certified Normal Accommodation in that unit. The average rate of crowding is published annually in the NOMS annual report and accounts.
	The average number of prisoners in crowded accommodation for the years 2005-06 to 2013-14 is set out in the following table, alongside the average percentage in crowded accommodation in order to provide context.
	
		
			  Average number of prisoners in crowded accommodation Average rate of crowding (%) 
			 2005-06 18,356 24.0 
			 2006-07 19,438 24.6 
			 2007-08 20,377 25.3 
			 2008-09 20,452 24.7 
		
	
	
		
			 2009-10 20,235 24.1 
			 2010-11 20,211 23.8 
			 2011-12 20,907 24.1 
			 2012-13 19,933 23.3 
			 2013-14 19,383 22.9 
		
	
	In 2013-14, the average number of prisoners held in crowded conditions decreased to 22.9% of the total population compared to 23.3% in 2012-13. This is the lowest level since 2001-02 and has come down from a high of 25.3% in 2007-08.

Prisons: Staff

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the per capita spending on prison officers was in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: Information on the average total salary cost, including national insurance and pension contributions, of a prison officer as at 31 March each year since 2010, is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Mean annual pay cost of prison officers, including employer national insurance and pension contributions, as at 31 March 2010 to 2014 
			  Mean annual pay cost (nominal) 
			 2010 32,747 
			 2011 34,024 
			 2012 34,951 
			 2013 35,608 
			 2014 36,157 
		
	
	The pay costs shown are for band 3 prison officers and their equivalents and include basic salary and local pay allowance where applicable.

Suicide

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many self-inflicted deaths there have been in each month since January 2014;
	(2)  how many deaths in custody there have been in each month since January 2014.

Jeremy Wright: The number of deaths in custody for the requested period is not yet available. The number of deaths in prison custody for the first quarter of 2014 will be published on 31 July 2014.
	The latest information on deaths in prison custody can be found in the Safety in Custody Statistics bulletin which can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics

TRANSPORT

A14

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motor vehicle accidents occurred on the A14 in each of the last 12 months.

Robert Goodwill: The numbers of reported personal injury motor vehicle accidents on the A14 for each of the 12 months in 2012 are given in the following table; by severity:
	
		
			 Number of reported personal injury accidents involving at least one motor vehicle1 on the A14 from Felixstowe to its junction with M6: 2012 
			  Fatal Serious Slight Total 
			 January 0 2 40 42 
			 February 1 12 36 49 
			 March 3 7 36 46 
			 April 3 6 35 44 
			 May 6 5 32 43 
			 June 0 9 30 39 
			 July 4 7 62 73 
			 August 3 14 38 55 
			 September 1 1 31 33 
			 October 0 5 29 34 
			 November 2 3 54 59 
			 December 5 1 50 56 
			 Total 28 72 472 573 
			 1 Excludes pedal cycles, horse riders and mobility scooters. Note: Data for 2013 will be published on 26 June 2014.

A14

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of how many motor vehicles have used the A14 in each of the last three years.

Robert Goodwill: The Department’s estimates of vehicle flows give the average number of vehicles per mile of the A14 on an average day of the year. Figures for the last three years are in the following table.
	
		
			  Average daily number of vehicles per mile 
			 2011 46,073 
			 2012 46,013 
			 2013 46,709

A428

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of how many motor vehicles have used the A428 in each of the last three years.

Robert Goodwill: The Department’s estimates of vehicle flows give the average number of vehicles per mile of the A428 on an average day of the year. Figures for the last three years are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Average daily number of vehicles per mile 
			 2011 12,491 
			 2012 12,476 
			 2013 12,660

A428

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motor vehicles accidents have occurred on the A428 in each of the last 12 months.

Robert Goodwill: The numbers of reported personal injury motor vehicle accidents on the A428 in each of the 12 months in 2012 are given in the following table; by severity.
	
		
			 Number of reported personal injury accidents involving at least one motor vehicle1 on A428: 2012 
			  Number of accidents 
			  Fatal Serious Slight Total 
			 January 3 4 26 33 
			 February 0 2 14 16 
			 March 1 3 20 24 
			 April 0 5 6 11 
			 May 0 2 14 16 
			 June 0 1 14 15 
			 July 0 4 16 20 
			 August 0 7 18 25 
			 September 0 6 21 27 
			 October 0 0 21 21 
			 November 0 1 16 17 
			 December 0 4 19 23 
			 Total 4 39 205 248 
			 1 Excludes pedal cycles, horse riders and mobility scooters. Note: Data for 2013 will be published on 26 June 2014.

A5: Shrewsbury

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to reclassifying the A5 from Shrewsbury to the M54 so that the M54 runs to Shrewsbury.

Robert Goodwill: Following the meeting with my hon. Friend last year, I asked the Highways Agency to look into the case for and against reclassifying the A5 between the M54 and Shrewsbury as a motorway. The Agency has indicated that work to quantify costs associated with such a reclassification is almost complete but that identifying and evaluating the resulting benefits is proving more problematic. Further assessment will be necessary before a robust cost/benefit analysis can be completed. I have asked the Agency to liaise with my hon. Friend as this matter progresses.

Large Goods Vehicles

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking with his European counterparts to encourage the reduction of fuel consumption by heavy-duty vehicles across the EU.

Robert Goodwill: We are committed to reducing the fuel consumption of heavy duty vehicles. We continue to work closely with both the UK industry and our European counterparts to ensure that the recently published EU strategy for improving heavy duty vehicle fuel consumption and reducing CO2 emissions reflects UK interests, and is ambitious but deliverable, proportionate and cost-effective.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were prosecuted for failure to pay vehicle excise duty in (a) Dartford constituency and (b) England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency does not hold this data broken down by parliamentary constituency. Figures are not held specifically for England and Wales. The following table shows the total amount of prosecutions for the offence of keeping or using an unlicensed vehicle in England, Scotland and Wales in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  Total number of prosecutions 
			 2009-10 64,408 
			 2010-11 53,648 
			 2011-12 44,159 
			 2012-13 29,035 
			 2013-14 25,044 
		
	
	The DVLA operates a comprehensive package of measures to tackle vehicle excise duty evasion. These range from reminder letters and penalties through to court prosecutions and the wheelclamping and/or removal of unlicensed vehicles. These measures have helped to improve compliance and the latest estimates show that vehicle excise duty evasion is at a historic low of just 0.6%.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many average speed cameras are operating in each region and constituent part of the UK.

Robert Goodwill: In England, the Highways Agency has the following six average speed camera systems on its network:
	M3 (Junction 2) (South East Region)
	M3 (from the M25) (South East Region)
	M25 (J12) (South East Region)
	A14 (East of England)
	A38 Saltash Tunnel (South West Region)
	A3 Hindhead Tunnel (South East Region)
	Average speed cameras are also used in road works as a temporary measure.
	The Department for Transport does not hold this information for cameras on local authority roads. Local authorities have statutory duties related to road safety and decisions about whether they operate speed cameras are a matter for them.
	This is a devolved matter so the Department does not hold information on average speed cameras in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what statistics his Department has collected on the use of average speed cameras and their effectiveness in reducing (a) accidents and (b) fatal accidents.

Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport does not collect statistics on the use of average speed cameras on local roads.
	The most recent evaluation of the effectiveness of safety cameras was carried out in the four-year evaluation report of the National Safety Camera Programme, published in 2005. This evaluation did not, however, specifically address average speed reduction cameras.
	In England, since the National Safety Camera Programme ceased in 2007, evaluation of safety cameras on local roads has been for the individual safety camera partnerships, local authorities and police forces which operate the cameras.
	The Highways Agency produces Post Opening Project Evaluation (POPE) reports for average speed camera systems on the Highways Agency network in England.

Valuation of Life and Health Interdepartmental Group

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s submission to the Inter-departmental Group for the Valuation of Life and Health review and evidence submitted to the series of interviews with his Department’s staff conducted by researchers from the university of Leeds published in 2008.

Stephen Hammond: I can inform my right hon. Friend that the documents have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

South Asia

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding her Department allocated to the Conflict Pool for South Asia in each of the last three years.

Alan Duncan: The Conflict Pool is funded from an HM Treasury settlement which is separate from and additional to departmental budgets. Details of Conflict Pool allocations are provided to Parliament annually in a written ministerial statement. The statements for financial years 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 are available on the parliament.uk website.
	A statement giving details of Conflict Pool allocations for FY 2014-15 will be laid before the House shortly.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to work with his international counterparts on ensuring that the Afghanistan Government continue to maintain security in sparsely populated areas of that country following the withdrawal of international troops.

Mark Francois: The international security assistance force’s (ISAF) combat mission will end this year and the Afghan national security force (ANSF) will assume full responsibility for security across Afghanistan. The UK and our international partners have committed to providing long-term support to the Afghan Government, including continued development of the ANSF, as part of the follow-on resolute support mission. This is subject to the necessary legal permissions being in place before the end of this year. The UK is also contributing an additional £70 million per year until 2017 towards ANSF sustainment.

Air Force: Training

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the results were of the recent interoperability training between RAF 41 (reserve) Test and Evaluation Squadron training with Swedish Air Force and their JAS39C Gripen aircraft.

Mark Francois: The visiting Swedish aircraft were from the Swedish Air Combat Training School. This visit enabled both parties to conduct tactical development of our respective operational test and evaluation processes. It also provided a valuable opportunity to exchange experiences in this area.

Armed Forces: Cadets

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what criteria he will use in deciding in which schools to establish a new Combined Cadet Force detachment;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the annual cost in each school of setting up a new Combined Cadet Force detachment;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effect of establishing new Combined Cadet Force detachments in state schools on recruitment to existing community-based cadet forces.

Anna Soubry: The cost of setting up a new Combined Cadet Force (CCF) unit under the Cadet Expansion Programme depends largely on the number of cadets in the unit.
	Decisions on opening new CCFs in schools are made jointly by the Department for Education and Ministry of Defence (MOD). The key criteria for deciding which schools can establish a new CCF are the ability of the school to fund the new unit and provide sufficient adult volunteers to run it. However, we are particularly interested in establishing CCFs in areas of deprivation.
	No assessment has been made of the effect of establishing new CCFs in state schools on recruitment to community cadet units. However, it should be noted that CCFs and community cadet units deliver different but complementary elements of the MOD’s youth engagement strategy.

Armed Forces: Cadets

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the Combined Cadet Force Association (CCFA) about the funding of school CCFs;
	(2)  what plans he has to change the funding support for Combined Cadet Forces;
	(3)  what plans he has for further funding of Combined Cadet Forces; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: We have set a target of expanding the number of Combined Cadet Forces (CCFs) in state schools.
	We are moving towards a model for all CCFs which will involve schools making a small contribution towards the running costs of their units, irrespective of which sector the school is in. We are working with schools to establish the best way forward and our current plan is that funding changes will happen in a phased manner over a four-year period from September 2015.
	The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has not had discussions with the Combined Cadet Force Association (CCFA), although officials are in regular contact. The CCFA is represented on relevant Government cadet committees, and has been briefed on the planned changes.

Armed Forces: Crimes of Violence

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of (a) rape, (b) sexual assault and (c) domestic violence were (i) reported to the Royal Military Police, (ii) referred by the Royal Military Police to prosecutors and (iii) directed for trial in each year since 2009.

Anna Soubry: The tables show the number of cases of rape and sexual assault reported to the Royal Military Police, which of those were referred by the Royal Military Police to prosecutors and which were directed for trial since 2009.
	These represent any case worldwide where the Royal Military Police has jurisdiction. Decisions to direct cases for trial are taken by the independent Service Prosecuting Authority.
	
		
			  Number of rape cases reported to the Royal Military Police Number of rape cases referred by the Royal Military Police to prosecutors Number of rape cases directed for trial1 
			 2009 20 15 10 
			 2010 20 10 10 
			 2011 20 15 5 
			 2012 20 15 10 
			 2013 20 5 10 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of sexual assault cases reported to the Royal Military Police Number of sexual assault cases referred by the Royal Military Police to prosecutors Number of sexual assault cases directed for trial1 
			 2009 60 30 10 
			 2010 65 45 30 
			 2011 50 30 40 
			 2012 35 25 25 
			 2013 45 30 25 
			 1 The figures relating to referrals and directions for trial use the date of referral receipt as the base line. The Service Prosecuting Authority often receive referrals in one year and the cases are directed, disposed and/or tried in the following year. As such there is no direct correlation to the number of cases brought in any one year. Over a period of time the figures may well fluctuate as additional referrals are either directed or non-instituted. 
		
	
	The figures have been rounded to the nearest five. The specific figure has not been disclosed to ensure that the alleged victim(s) cannot be identified. This is in line with the Sexual Offences (Amendments) Act 1976 and 1992.
	Because of the way domestic violence statistics are recorded it is taking some time to collate the information. I will write to the hon. Member with an answer shortly.

Army Reserve

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what planning data was used to devise his Department's recruitment target for the Army Reserve as part of its Army 2020 reforms.

Anna Soubry: The term “recruitment target” has been interpreted as the 30,000 trained Army Reservists required under Army 2020.
	During the three-month exercise, the Ministry of Defence examined a range of force structure options which were assessed as being able to deliver the policy demand specified by the new defence planning assumptions laid out in strategic defence and security review 2010. As a result of this, a Senior Military Judgment Panel chaired by the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff and including the Assistant Chiefs of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force concluded that the size of the Regular Army should be 82,500, and the Independent Commission to Review the United Kingdom's Reserve Forces recommended an Army Reserve of 30,000 trained personnel. This was judged to be the optimal size and shape of the Army within available resources.

Army Reserve

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Army Reserve returned injured from operations in the last 10 years.

Anna Soubry: 239 Army Reserve personnel have returned injured from operations between 1 April 2007, when records began, and 30 April 2014.

Army: Length of Service

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 363W, on army: length of service, if he will provide the full calculations used to produce that Answer.

Anna Soubry: The table included in my answer of 16 June 2014 included a column headed ‘Average Strength’. This was incorrectly labelled and should have been headed ‘Underlying Outflow’.
	The tables from my answers of 3 April 2014, Official Report, column 809W, and 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 363W, are reproduced as follows with the correct headings and to provide clarity.
	
		
			  Average Career Length  
			 Regiment/Corps Enlisted under 18 Enlisted 18 or over Underlying Outflow 
			 Household Cavalry & Royal Armoured Corps 11 years, 4 months 9 years, 4 months 1,860 
			 Royal Artillery 13 years, 0 months 9 years, 6 months 2,210 
			 Royal Engineers 12 years, 11 months 8 years, 6 months 2,830 
			 Royal Signals 14 years, 5 months 10 years, 1 months 1,830 
			 Infantry 11 years, 0 months 7 years, 9 months 8,700 
			 Army Air Corps 14 years, 1 months 11 years, 3 months 370 
		
	
	
		
			 Royal Logistic Corps 13 years, 5 months 10 years, 2 months 4,560 
			 Royal Army Medical Corps 12 years, 1 months 9 years, 10 months 560 
			 Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 14 years, 4 months 13 years, 3 months 2,670 
			 Adjutant General’s Corps (Provost) 19 years, 7 months 13 years, 6 months 400 
			 Adjutant General’s Corps (Staff and Personnel Support) 18 years, 10 months 14 years, 4 months 870 
			 Royal Army Veterinary Corps 12 years, 10 months 9 years, 6 months 80 
			 Small Arms School Corps 23 years, 0 months 21 years, 5 months 20 
			 Royal Army Dental Corps 13 years, 7 months 11 years, 10 months 60 
			 Intelligence Corps 22 years, 10 months 14 years, 4 months 240 
			 Royal Army Physical Training Corps 22 years, 0 months 19 years, 11 months 110 
			 Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps 14 years, 5 months 11 years, 4 months 140 
			 Corps of Army Music 22 years, 2 months 13 years, 3 months 180 
			 Senior Soldier Continuity Posts (Long Service) 34 years, 11 months 30 years, 4 months 140 
			 Notes/Caveats: Underlying outflow figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Source: Defence Statistics (Army) 
		
	
	An individual's length of service and enlistment age have been calculated using the current entry date recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration system. There can be small anomalies in the data where personnel have transferred to the Army from another service, served under an alternative assignment type (eg reserve forces), are re-entrants or have transferred from officers to other ranks.
	The average career length is a simple calculation based on dividing the total length of service of all those personnel who have left the Army by Corps between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2013 by the total number of personnel leaving each Corps during the same period.

Army: Recruitment

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s contract with Capita in relation to the Army Recruitment Partnering project.

Anna Soubry: Since January 2011, as part of the Transparency Agenda, central Government Departments have been required to publish information about contracts they award on Contracts Finder. A copy of the Ministry of Defence contract with Capita for the Army Recruitment Partnering project can be found at:
	Recruiting Partnering Contract, part 1:
	https://online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Common/View%20Notice.aspx?site=1000&lang=en&noticeid=473310&fs=true
	Part 2:
	https://online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Common/View%20Notice.aspx?site=1000&lang=en&noticeid=473847&fs=true

D-day Landings: Anniversaries

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to hold further D-day commemorations.

Anna Soubry: Following the very successful commemorations to mark this year’s 70th anniversary of D-day, we will be discussing with the Normandy Veterans Association how we might approach future commemorations once the association disbands later this year. We are sure that veterans will continue to return annually as long as they are able and that particular plans will again be made as the 75th anniversary, another significant milestone, approaches.

European Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the technical fault was with Typhoon aircraft T3 ZJ815 which forced it to land in Lajes Field; whether this fault has been rectified; and whether this aircraft has since returned to the UK.

Mark Francois: Typhoon ZJ815 was on a pre-planned stop at Lajes Field on its return journey to the UK from exercise in the USA. A fault with the Inertial Measuring Unit on Typhoon ZJ815 was identified during routine pre-departure checks at Lajes Field. The fault was repaired in situ and the aircraft returned to the UK.

France

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the final investment approval for Project Teutates.

Philip Dunne: I am unable to place a copy of the business case that sought investment approval for Project Teutates in the Library as the document contains classified information.

Military Decorations

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will add a category of name of medal requested to the Certificate of Kinship Request for the Medals of a Deceased Ex-Serviceman/woman form.

Anna Soubry: The existing combined medal application and next of kin form contains a box where the applicant can specify which medal they are applying for.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on redundancy payments for special advisers since May 2010.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 678W.

Nuclear Weapons

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports covering the factors surrounding the use of nuclear weapons have been (a) prepared and (b) commissioned by his Department.

Philip Dunne: The UK has made it clear that the circumstances in which any employment of nuclear weapons might be contemplated are very remote. We would employ nuclear weapons only in extreme circumstances of self-defence and in accordance with our obligations under international law. The UK uses nuclear weapons as a deterrent every single day as demonstrated by the Continuous At Sea Deterrence. The most recent major Government reports that explore these issues are the 2006 White Paper “The Future of the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Deterrent”; the 2010 SDSR and the 2013 Trident Alternatives Review, all of which are in the public domain.

South Asia

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding his Department allocated to the Conflict Pool for South Asia in each of the last three years.

Mark Francois: The Conflict Pool is funded from a Treasury settlement which is separate from and additional to departmental budgets and is administered jointly by the Ministry of Defence, the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for conflict prevention and mitigation work. Details of Conflict Pool allocations are provided to Parliament annually in a written ministerial statement. Statements for financial years (FY) 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 are as follows:
	5 April 2011, Official Report, columns 57-59WS.
	19 November 2012, Official Report, columns 19-22WS.
	13 June 2013, Official Report, columns 14-15WS.
	A Statement giving details of Conflict Pool allocations for FY 2014-15 will be released to the House shortly.

Type 26 Frigates

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the key stages of decision-making are in the procurement process of the Type 26 global combat ship.

Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 March 2014, Official Report, column 504W.

Ukraine

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many ships from the Royal Navy were present in the recent joint manoeuvres with the Ukrainian navy.

Mark Francois: None.

Veterans: Mental Health Services

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to improve care for veterans suffering with psychological injuries after their service.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 May 2014, Official Report, column 277W, to the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Mr Hancock). In addition to the initiatives outlined in that answer, I would also note that the mental health of our personnel and veterans is a top priority for the Government and that is why we have committed £7.2 million to ensure there is extensive mental health support in place for those who need it.

EDUCATION

Billing

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many creditors had remained unpaid by his Department on 1 June 2014 for (a) 45, (b) 60, (c) 75 and (d) 76 days and over.

Matthew Hancock: The information requested is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In common with other Government Departments, the annual report and accounts for the Department for Education, which are available in the Libraries of both Houses, contain information on supplier payment performance.

Teachers: Veterans

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the success of his Troops to Teachers initiative.

David Laws: The Troops to Teachers undergraduate programme is a new programme, which started in January 2014. Trainees in the first cohort are in their second term of school-based training so whilst feedback from host schools is positive, it is too soon to fully evaluate the success of the programme.

CABINET OFFICE

Government Procurement: SMEs

William Bain: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent steps he has taken to address barriers to small and medium-sized enterprises participating in Government procurement.

Nick Hurd: This Government have transformed central Government procurement to make it more accessible to small and medium-sized businesses. We are in the process of implementing Lord Young’s recommendations to create an SME-friendly ‘single market’ in wider public procurement, and we will go even further through reforms in the forthcoming Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill.

Public Sector Mutuals

James Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress his Department has made on supporting public sector mutuals.

Francis Maude: The number of public service mutuals has increased from nine in 2010 to nearly 100 today, operating in sectors ranging from youth services to social care. My Department's Mutuals Support Programme continues to provide professional support and training to live and developing mutuals, supporting over 65 to date.

Social Enterprises

Peter Aldous: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress his Department has made on supporting social enterprises.

Nick Hurd: This Government are doing a great deal to support the growth of social enterprises. We are improving their access to finance through social investment. We are making it easier for them to deliver public services through the Social Value Act and a wide range of capacity building support.

Billing

Nick de Bois: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many creditors had remained unpaid by his Department on 1 June 2014 for (a) 45, (b) 60, (c) 75 and (d) 76 days and over.

Francis Maude: During the 2013-14 financial year my Department paid 98.7% of invoices within 30 days.
	On 31 May 2014, the following creditors were unpaid by the Cabinet Office-all were in dispute:
	
		
			 Number of days unpaid Number of creditors 
			 45-59 13 
			 60-74 24 
			 75 and over 30

Brain: Tumours

Rebecca Harris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many patients in the UK were diagnosed with secondary brain tumours in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) 2013;
	(2)  how many patients in the UK were diagnosed with low grade brain tumours in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) 2013;
	(3)  how many patients in the UK were diagnosed with high grade brain tumours in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) 2013.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking:
	How many patients in the UK were diagnosed with secondary brain tumours in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) 2013.
	How many patients in the UK were diagnosed with high grade brain tumours in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) 2013.
	How many patients in the UK were diagnosed with low grade brain tumours in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) 2013.
	Detailed information about secondary cancer diagnoses and grade of primary cancer at diagnosis are not routinely recorded on individual cancer registrations sent to ONS for processing and publishing as National Statistics. For these reasons it is not possible to provide figures on secondary brain cancer incidence or primary brain cancer incidence by grade.
	The most recent cancer incidence figures available are for cases diagnosed in 2012. Table 1 provides the number of newly diagnosed cases of brain cancer in men and women resident in England, for the years 2008 to 2012.
	ONS publishes cancer incidence data for England. The latest published figures on cancer incidence for the UK constituent countries are available from the following websites:
	England:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/cancer-statistics-registrations--england--series-mb1-/index.html
	Wales:
	http://www.wcisu.wales.nhs.uk/home
	Scotland:
	http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Cancer-Statistics/
	Northern Ireland:
	http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/CancerData/OnlineStatistics/
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of newly diagnosed cases of brain cancer1, 2008-122, male, female, England3 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Male 2,283 2,356 2,310 2,275 2,336 
			 Female 1,689 1,714 1,702 1,759 1,623 
			 Total 3,972 4,070 4,012 4,034 3,959 
			 1 Cancer of the Brain is coded as C71 according to the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision (ICD-10). 2 Cancer incidence figures are based on newly diagnosed cases registered in each calendar year. 3 Figures for England exclude cancer registrations for non-residents. Source: Office for National Statistics

Muslim Brotherhood

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the review of the Muslim Brotherhood led by Sir John Jenkins will be published.

Francis Maude: The findings of the review will be published once they have been considered by the Government.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.

Nick Hurd: The Cabinet Office does not operate or sponsor telephone lines with the prefix 0843, 0844 or 0845.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Sovereignty: Scotland

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his Department had discussions with the Welsh Government regarding the use of public funds by the Cabinet Office to produce and send an anti-Scottish Independence pamphlet to every house in Scotland.

Greg Clark: There are regular discussions between UK Government and Welsh Government Ministers on matters of mutual interest.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Companies: Ownership

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the proposed beneficial ownership registry identifies the real controlling parties of all companies listed.

Jennifer Willott: The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill will make provision for the implementation of a central registry of company beneficial ownership information. The legislation will set out the obligations and sanctions that will apply to companies and others to ensure that the central registry contains information on the ultimate owners and controllers of UK companies.

Companies: Ownership

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when the public register of beneficial ownership will be introduced.

Jennifer Willott: The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill will make provision for the implementation of a central registry of company beneficial ownership information. We will implement the registry through secondary legislation as soon as practicable following Royal Assent of the Bill, which is subject to the will of Parliament.

Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the budget for the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate is for 2014-15.

Jennifer Willott: The budget for the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate is no longer devolved below branch level in the Labour Markets Directorate, and we are therefore unable to provide this information.

Higher Education: Dartford

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students at schools in Dartford applied for higher education places in each of the last five years.

David Willetts: Information on the number of UCAS applicants from Dartford constituency is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 UCAS applicants aged under 211 and 21 and over to full-time undergraduate courses from Dartford constituency 
			  Year of entry 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Under 21 705 800 845 740 835 
			 21 and over 1,205 1,225 1,245 1,130 1,085 
			 1 This analysis uses country specific age definitions that align with the cut off points for school and college cohorts within the different administrations of the UK. For England, ages are defined on 31 August. Defining ages in this way matches the assignment of children to school cohorts. Source: UCAS.

Minimum Wage

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many complaints about payment of the National Minimum Wage (a) were made, (b) were resolved within the required departmental time scales and (c) were not resolved within the required departmental time scales in 2013-14;
	(2)  what the target time scale is for resolving complaints regarding non-payment of the National Minimum Wage.

Jennifer Willott: The Government are committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) enforces the national minimum wage (NMW) on behalf of BIS.
	HMRC investigates every complaint made to the Pay and Work Rights helpline and deals with each NMW complaint on a case-by-case basis. The time scale for each case is dependent on a number of factors:
	the complexity of the issues;
	the size of employer;
	the co-operation of the employer; and
	the enforcement route required.
	In 2013/14, HMRC investigated 1,631 cases. Of these, 1,084 cases were closed; 565 cases were closed within 120 days; 519 cases were closed outside of 120 days; and 547 cases are still open and yet to be concluded.
	Please note that investigations may not commence and be completed in the same financial year.

Minimum Wage

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the Government spent on national minimum wage enforcement in 2013-14.

Jennifer Willott: Final figures for the Government spend on national minimum wage enforcement during 2013/14 are not yet available.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each case.

Jennifer Willott: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) currently operates the following 0845 numbers:
	0845 015 0010 BIS Publications Order line;
	0845 015 0020 BIS Publications Order line (Fax);
	0845 015 0030 BIS Publications Order line (Minicom); and
	0845 600 9006 Business Link Helpline.
	BIS does not operate any 0843 or 0844 numbers. No records are available showing the number of calls made to these lines in the last 12 months. Alternative numbers charged at the local rate are available on all of these lines.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Combined Authorities: Tees Valley

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions his Department has had with local authorities in the Tees Valley on the creation of a combined authority.

Brandon Lewis: On 16 June 2014 the Government signed a City Deal with the Tees Valley in which the local leaders committed to develop plans to strengthen governance, including progressing the idea of a combined authority for the area.
	It is for the local areas themselves to decide, given their circumstances, what governance arrangements will best enable effective and collaborative decision taking, which is transparent and locally accountable, thus delivering successfully the implementation of the area’s Strategic Economic Plan. Where councils come forward with a proposal for a combined authority that commands wide local support, if the Secretary of State considers that the statutory conditions are met, he will invite Parliament to approve an Order which enables the combined authority to be established.

Fire Services: Pensions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to hold a further formal public consultation on firefighters' pensions.

Brandon Lewis: Paragraph 3.3 of the current consultation states that the Department will hold further consultations during 2014 on the governance and transitional arrangements for the firefighter pension reforms.
	The current consultation document, which closes on 4 July, can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-regulations-to-introduce-a-new-firefighters-pension-scheme-from-april-2015
	and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether independent generators who sign a conditional power purchase agreement ahead of competing in a Contract for Difference auction will be able to participate in a later short-term power purchase market that the offtaker of last resort arrangements seek to support.

Michael Fallon: We anticipate that some generators will seek to establish the terms of any PPA and financing arrangements before they participate in the CfD allocation round, in order to understand better their likely costs. Agreements between generators and PPA providers could take a number of different forms, from indicative terms to a signed contract. The decision to sign a conditional PPA ahead of the auction, and the duration of any agreement, are ultimately commercial matters.
	We anticipate that the Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) will encourage competition in the PPA market both at the outset of the CfD and once any initial PPA has expired. Generators agreeing to a conditional PPA would be able to participate in the later short-term PPA market, once their initial PPA had expired; backed by the protections afforded by the OLR.

Energy

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he expects independent low carbon generators to have secured conditional power purchase agreements prior to bidding in the contract for difference auction in October 2014.

Michael Fallon: We anticipate that some generators will seek to establish the terms of any PPA and financing arrangements before they participate in the CfD allocation round, in order to understand better their likely costs. Such conditional PPAs could take a number of forms, from indicative terms to a signed contract.

Energy

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of his Department's consumption of (a) gas and (b) electricity in KWH in each month since June 2010.

Gregory Barker: DECC’s monthly consumption of gas and electricity since June 2010 can be viewed in the following tables. The information provided covers those buildings occupied by the core DECC Department where we are directly billed or have estimates.
	
		
			 Energy (kwh) 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			  Gas Electricity Gas Electricity Gas Electricity 
			 April - - 26,271.73 118,488.24 46,300.80 113,694.34 
			 May - - 18,433.40 125,714.37 31,941.54 130,823.49 
			 June 16,628.86 167,271.19 16,884.90 136,170.60 15,849.41 116,916.29 
			 July 14,492.51 164,190.62 15,374.25 136,162.10 15,971.68 134,794.47 
			 August 14,974.66 149,930.22 13,919.53 136,094.85 14,398.05 134,941.62 
			 September 16,061.27 144,175.92 15,624.00 131,236.52 16,688.21 123,473.43 
			 October 20,574.86 138,090.94 26,751.63 126,006.34 37,936.41 137,211.91 
			 November 37,716.87 136,012.49 41,786.65 122,336.22 70,721.10 129,018.94 
			 December 73,459.07 122,576.51 72,210.50 107,805.51 60,382.93 113,633.33 
			 January 50,313.01 125,964.32 82,497.66 119,865.17 110,003.52 135,198.76 
			 February 36,569.65 116,975.48 104,100.95 124,662.19 104,456.34 130,040.57 
			 March 32,840.54 132,109.71 46,541.02 124,512.95 103,784.53 135,098.05 
		
	
	
		
			 Energy (kwh) 
			  2013-14 2014-15 
			  Gas Electricity Gas Electricity 
			 April 71,226.79 131,565.73 44,331.45 118,491.17 
			 May 36,416.79 139,388.95 27,540.83 123,533.18 
			 June 22,242.11 145,514.18 - - 
			 July 21,409.88 172,389.81 - - 
			 August 17,438.38 152,973.22 - - 
			 September 19,566.45 136,575.72 - - 
			 October 31,900.85 139,261.69 - - 
			 November 61,766.97 132,878.44 - - 
			 December 62,490.21 127,263.77 - - 
			 January 82,280.77 145,212.29 - - 
			 February 69,704.16 135,216.86 - - 
			 March 56,728.98 139,352.76 - -

Energy

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on (a) gas and (b) electricity bills in each year since 2010.

Gregory Barker: Departmental spend on gas and electricity bills, by financial year, is as follows:
	
		
			 Gas 
			  £ 
			 2010-11 19,122 
			 2011-12 16,700 
			 2012-13 21,719 
			 2013-14 115,851 
		
	
	
		
			 Electricity 
			  £ 
			 2010-11 203,723 
			 2011-12 165,782 
			 2012-13 202,289 
			 2013-14 205,847 
			 1 March gas bill not yet received, February used as approximation.

Energy: China

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what commitments to transparency were included in the bilateral co-operation agreements with China on Energy announced on 17 June 2014.

Michael Fallon: On 17 June 2014, the UK signed two agreements relating to civil nuclear energy at the UK-China Summit. Both the Joint Statement on Civil Nuclear Energy Co-operation and the Memorandum of Understanding on Enhancing Co-operation in the Field of Civil Nuclear Industry Fuel Cycle Supply Chain are on the gov.uk website and can be viewed via the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/multimillion-boost-to-uk-economy-as-china-and-uk-government-sign-civil-nuclear-agreement-and-sign-agreement-to-deepen-cooperation-on-climate-change

Energy: China

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the cost has been of the visit of his Department’s officials ahead of the completion of the agreements on energy collaboration with China signed on 17 June 2014; and if he will publish the dates and purpose of each such visit.

Michael Fallon: From 12-15 April, three officials from the Office for Nuclear Development visited Beijing to discuss the Joint Statement on Civil Nuclear Energy Co-operation and Memorandum of Understanding on Enhanced Co-operation on Civil Nuclear Industry Fuel Cycle Supply Chain with the Chinese Government. Officials also attended various other meetings to understand Chinese civil nuclear capability and to explain UK regulatory requirements. The cost of this visit was £11,787.38.

Housing: Energy

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Scotland, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland are off the mains gas grid.

Michael Fallon: In 2012, it is estimated that there were approximately 2.83 million households in Great Britain that did not have access to the gas network; 2.21 million of these households were in England, 0.44 million in Scotland and 0.20 million in Wales.
	Data on gas connections in Northern Ireland, and data on the number of households within 500 meters of the gas grid, are not held by DECC.
	These data are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sub-national-estimates-of-households-not-connected-to-the-gas-network

Housing: Energy

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many properties were connected to the gas distribution network in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014.

Michael Fallon: The figures set out in the following table are for gas grid connections that fall under the eight gas distribution networks in Great Britain. These figures do not include gas transmission, nor do they include independent gas transporters (IGTs) as IGTs are not regulated (they are part of a relative price control as part of Ofgem’s remit).
	Please see the following figures from 1 April 2012 until 31 March 2013:
	
		
			 2012-13 
			  New housing Existing housing Industrial/commercial Fuel poor Total 
			 East of England 1,559 4,534 74 2,748 8,915 
			 London 635 1,145 68 200 2,048 
			 North West 494 1,523 57 1,943 4,017 
			 West Midlands 469 1,257 47 1,206 2,979 
			 Northern Gas Networks 1,187 3,341 407 914 5,849 
			 Scotland 378 7,531 295 2,801 11,005 
			 Southern 3,405 6,577 458 120 10,560 
			 Wales and West 2,653 5,069 556 2,105 10,383 
			 Industry 10,780 30,977 1,962 12,037 55,756 
		
	
	Ofgem receive the 2013-14 regulatory year submissions from the companies on 31 July. We therefore do not have any more up-to-date information at the moment for gas distribution connections in 2014.

Housing: Insulation

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households with a below-average income have received support for comprehensive insulation of their homes in the last year.

Gregory Barker: The coalition Government are committed to fighting fuel poverty through the installation of robust energy efficiency measures.
	Statistics published this morning show that from the start of 2013 to the end of April 2014, 394,000 low-income and vulnerable consumers, or households in specified areas of low income, had benefited from energy efficiency measures being installed under the new energy company obligation.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of existing regulations on commercial propane gas providers.

Michael Fallon: The supply of propane gas in bulk and cylinder form is subject to UK competition law under the Competition and Markets Authority; and Health and Safety Regulations.
	The study by the Office of Fair Trading into the off-grid energy market in 2011 showed that on the whole competition works well, with consumers offered a good choice of suppliers, and that the off-grid sector does not need price regulation.
	Health and Safety Regulations place obligations on propane gas suppliers so that the supplier must ensure that the installation is safe to receive propane gas before refilling, that the product is safely contained and that the installation is fitted with a pressure regulator and other key safety devices.

Nuclear Power

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of the UK's energy supply he expects to be obtained from nuclear energy in each of the next five years.

Michael Fallon: DECC’s most recent projections of future electricity generation were made as part of the EMR December Delivery Plan 2013. The percentage of total electricity generation expected from nuclear sources in each calendar year is shown in Table 1.
	
		
			 Table 1: Yearly percentage of total electricity generation expected from nuclear sources 
			  Percentage of total generation from nuclear sources 
			 2014 17.4 
			 2015 17.6 
			 2016 17.2 
			 2017 17.3 
			 2018 17.4 
			 2019 17.4

Veterans

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department issues guidance about the protocol of former armed forces personnel using their rank as a title after they have left service.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not have a policy or guidance on the protocol of former armed forces personnel using their rank as a title after they have left service.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an assessment of the accuracy of the report of 9 May 2014 by the James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies that a military factory in Pauk Township of the central Magwe Division, Burma, has some features that are consistent with a chemical plant.

Hugo Swire: The James Martin Centre report states that it is not possible to determine the nature of the facility in question. We are unable to make any further assessments at this stage.
	We have made a concerted effort to encourage Burma to ratify its Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). I raised this most recently with Deputy Foreign Minister U That Kyaw on 12 June. We are working with the OPCW to offer practical support, and the UK National Authority to the CWC has offered to host a Burmese delegation later this year.

India

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on sexual assault of ethnic Chin women and children from Burma in New Delhi, India; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: We are aware of such reports. We are committed to working with the new Indian Government and international partners to address the problem of gender-based violence, human trafficking and child exploitation in India. Through the Department for International Development's (DFID) programmes, we support measures in India's 120 poorest districts to promote the empowerment and access to benefits and services of excluded and vulnerable groups. Through DFID, we also provide support to national and state authorities in India helping girls to complete basic education and further tackling violence against women and girls.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), invited the Indian Government to attend the recent global summit to end sexual violence in conflict and has already discussed the initiative with the new Indian Foreign Minister. The Indian high commissioner to the UK attended the summit.

Kashmir

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the situation in Kashmir; and what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Indian, (b) Pakistani and (c) US counterparts on this matter.

Hugo Swire: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has spoken to each of his Indian, Pakistani and US counterparts in recent months about South Asia regional issues and relations between India and Pakistan. We recognise the importance of finding a lasting solution to the situation in Kashmir, but remain of the view it is not for third parties to prescribe one. We continue to follow developments in the region closely, and officials from our high commissions in both New Delhi and Islamabad regularly discuss the situation in Kashmir with both Governments and travel to the region, security situation permitting.

Palestinians

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the recent destruction of fruit trees at the Tent of Nations farm on the West Bank.

Hugh Robertson: We have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities. However, we repeatedly make clear to the Israeli authorities our serious concerns about continued demolitions of Palestinian property and the need to abide by their other obligations under international law. Officials from our embassy in Tel Aviv raised the issue of demolitions in general on 28 May with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office.

Sudan

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of Sudan about the imprisonment of Meriam Ibrahim.

Mark Simmonds: I am appalled at the death sentence given to Meriam Ibrahim, and her continued imprisonment. Immediately following her trial, I issued a statement describing her conviction as barbaric and calling upon the Government of Sudan to respect the right to freedom of religion and international human rights laws as enshrined in its own constitution. The chargé d’affaires of the Sudanese embassy in London was summoned to the Foreign Office on 19 May at the request of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague). The Under-Secretary of State for International Development, the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone), reiterated our demand with the Sudanese Foreign Minister when she met him on 20 May. Our embassy in Khartoum, which attended her trial, continues to press the Sudanese authorities for Meriam Ibrahim’s release, and is in close contact with the defence team.

Sudan

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will press for the immediate release of Meriam Ibrahim and her two children who are imprisoned in Sudan.

Mark Simmonds: Meriam Ibrahim was released on 23 June, which we strongly welcomed. She has subsequently been detained again by the Sudanese authorities. Together with our international partners we are urgently seeking clarity on the precise details of her re-arrest and to seek her immediate release.
	Before her short release, the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), and I had all issued statements calling for Meriam Ibrahim to be released immediately. We also raised our concerns directly with the Government of Sudan: my colleague Lynne Featherstone with the Sudanese Foreign Minister; and our ambassador in Khartoum with other Ministers and senior officials. We will continue to press for her freedom.

Sudan

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps he has taken to call for the release of Meriam Ibrahim and her son from prison in Sudan and for her death sentence to be revoked.

Mark Simmonds: We have repeatedly raised our concerns about this appalling case with the Government of Sudan. The Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for International Development, and I all issued statements calling for Meriam Ibrahim to be released immediately. We also raised our concerns directly with the Government of Sudan: I highlighted this case in a letter to Presidential Assistant Professor Ghandour; the Under-Secretary of State for International Development, the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone), raised it with the Sudanese Foreign Minister; and our ambassador in Khartoum has raised it on multiple occasions with other Ministers and senior officials.

Syria

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence his Department holds on whether the Syrian Government were responsible for the chemical weapons attack in Kafr Zita.

Hugh Robertson: The UK was among the first to express concern at allegations that chemical weapons had again been used in Syria, and called for them to be investigated.
	On 29 April the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director General announced he was establishing a Fact Finding Mission to determine the truth behind recent allegations of chemical weapon use in Syria. The UK has continued to stress the importance of this mission determining the full facts.
	We are aware of at least nine attacks in April in which the use of chemical weapons has been alleged. We consider it likely that chemical weapons have been used on at least some of these occasions. There are a number of pieces of information that suggest that only regime could have been responsible for these attacks, including the use of helicopters to deliver bombs to their targets and the fact that the attacks took place in opposition controlled areas. We have shared the information we hold with the OPCW.
	We condemn the attack on the convoy carrying inspectors to Kafr Zita and urge all parties to the conflict to ensure that inspectors are given secure and unrestricted access to all relevant sites to enable the full facts to be established.

HEALTH

Abortion

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what regulatory oversight his Department will apply to 24 hour helplines provided by independent abortion clinics.

Jane Ellison: It is a condition of approval from the Secretary of State that independent sector providers have a 24 hour helpline available. The Care Quality Commission is considering the best approach to regulating termination of pregnancy services.

Billing

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many creditors had remained unpaid by his Department on 1 June 2014 for (a) 45, (b) 60, (c) 75 and (d) 76 days and over.

Norman Lamb: As at 1 June 2014, the Department had three creditors that remained unpaid for between 45-59 days.
	The Department had no creditors that remained unpaid for between 60-74 days.
	The Department had no creditors that remained unpaid for 75 days.
	Following the abolition of primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities (SHAs) on 31 March 2013, the Department took over responsibility for ensuring that legacy invoice payments were made correctly. Legacy PCT and SHA teams remained in place, to process creditor payments for prior to 1 April 2013, until 31 August 2013. Those outstanding at that point were transferred to successor organisations, including the Department. As at 1 June 2014, there were 270 creditors that remained unpaid. This is due to the careful diligence taking place in order to mitigate the risk of making fraudulent or duplicate payments.

Diabetes

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Chief Executive of NHS Improving Quality on (a) preserving the legacy of the work of NHS Diabetes and (b) improving care for people with diabetes; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes on the implementation plans for Action for Diabetes; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Jonathan Valabhji, the National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes, has had no discussions with the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), specifically about Action for Diabetes.
	There have been no recent discussions about diabetes between the Secretary of State for Health and NHS Improving Quality.

Drugs: Misuse

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of opiate-related overdoses among people recently released from prison.

Jane Ellison: People who have recently been released from prison are at a greater risk of overdose. A 2005 report on drug-related mortality among newly released offenders (1998-2000) showed that male prisoners in the study were about 29 times more likely to die than males in the general population.
	The Department of Health and Ministry of Justice have funded a joint initiative to improve the “through the gate” provision for prisoners who are dependent on drugs and alcohol. Ten prisons in the North West are currently piloting a range of innovative interventions to provide more intensive support and supervision for people leaving custody which include the use of peer mentors, recovery housing services and take-home naloxone as they return to the community.
	Public Health England has also published a checklist to support local authorities with commissioning services and interventions that help to prevent overdose, as part of a wider treatment and harm reduction system.
	The Integrated Drug Treatment System (IDTS) programme, implemented in prisons between 2006 and 2010, sought to improve the standard and quality of drug treatment in prisons. One of the key drivers for this programme was the need to reduce drug-related deaths among people who had been recently released from prison.
	Through IDTS, prisoners could get access to evidence-based opioid substitution treatment in prison, which they could continue in the community after release. The extent in which this was successful in reducing drug-related overdose deaths will be one of the themes in the IDTS evaluation, which will be published next year.
	The principles of IDTS continue to be adopted by local partners responsible for commissioning health services.

Drugs: Misuse

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of take-home naloxone in reducing the number of opiate-related deaths across the UK in conjunction with the training and educational programmes within the prison services.

Jane Ellison: From July 2009 to February 2010, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (now part of Public Health England (PHE)) ran a trial at 16 pilot sites around England in which carers and relations of opiate misusers were trained to respond to overdoses and use the antidote naloxone and basic life support techniques.
	A report1 on the trial was published in 2011, and it was clear that naloxone appeared to help save lives. The report said that there were 18 overdoses where carers used naloxone and two where they applied basic life support. All the drug users survived the overdose. The trial included people who were about to leave prisons, and the report covers some of the issues around this.
	There is currently a trial running on the effectiveness of giving prisoners naloxone when they leave prison, which has yet to report.
	Some prisons currently supply prisoners with take-home naloxone as part of their post-release support. PHE does not hold the data centrally.
	The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has recommended that naloxone be made more widely available, and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has undertaken a consultation with the field on implementing this recommendation. There will be no further policy announcements on naloxone until the report on this consultation is published.
	1 Full report available at:
	http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads.naloxonereport2011.pdf

Healthy Start Scheme

Sharon Hodgson: To ask The Secretary of State for Health how many parents received Healthy Start vouchers in the latest year for which figures are available; and what the total cost to the Exchequer of such vouchers was.

Daniel Poulter: Healthy Start provides a nutritional safety net to pregnant women, new mothers and children under four years old in United Kingdom families claiming income-based benefits, or claiming child tax credit without working tax credit (unless it is working tax credit run-on) with an annual family income of £16,190 or less. Healthy Start vouchers are issued four-weekly by post and the number entitled to receive the vouchers in each complete four week period during 2013-14 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Four weeks beginning on: Total number of households Total number of women and children 
			 8 April 2013 457,035 557,833 
			 6 May 2013 455,271 555,454 
			 3 June 2013 453,646 553,208 
			 1 July 2013 450,164 548,533 
			 29 July 2013 443,939 540,437 
			 26 August 2013 441,385 537,195 
			 23 September 2013 438,471 533,703 
			 21 October 2013 434,397 528,620 
			 18 November 2013 432,549 526,151 
			 16 December 2013 428,328 520,777 
			 13 January 2014 427,362 519,570 
			 10 February 2014 425,659 517,463 
			 10 March 2014 423,156 514,217 
		
	
	The gradual reduction in the number entitled to support during 2013-14 reflects a decline in the number of households meeting the qualifying criteria.
	Approximately £93 million was paid to retailers during 2013-14 for Healthy Start vouchers they had accepted in exchange for milk, formula milk, fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables. Retailers have six months from the use-by date printed on vouchers to claim reimbursement, and typically they claim reimbursement for at least 91% of all Healthy Start vouchers issued.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of patients waiting more than six weeks for diagnostic tests through NHS England; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The Government have invested more than £750 million over four years to support early diagnosis in cancer and improve access to key diagnostics to make sure that everyone has access to the best possible treatment. Awareness raising campaigns such as Be Clear on Cancer are encouraging more people to come forward with their symptoms.
	Patients should receive timely care, and NHS England, the NHS Trust Development Authority and Monitor are working with providers and commissioners to ensure patients get access to tests and treatment as quickly as possible.

In Vitro Fertilisation: Trafford

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that Trafford Commissioning Group provides the full treatment for IVF as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in 2004.

Jane Ellison: The level of provision of infertility treatment, as for all health services they commission, is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local health care needs. As such, provision of services will be tailored to local requirements.
	NHS England expects all those involved in commissioning infertility treatment services to be fully aware of the importance of having regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence fertility guidelines. In February 2013, NHS England issued a factsheet to support CCGs in taking on those responsibilities.

Meat

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of recent changes to safety checks in slaughterhouses on the risk of diseased meat entering the food chain undetected; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The Food Standards Agency advises that the new procedure for pig meat inspection will better protect consumers from foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella. It reduces the amount of routine carcase handling and incision carried out by officials that contributes to the risk of microbiological contamination on carcases and offal. This is in line with a 2011 scientific opinion from the European Food Safety Authority.
	Under the new procedures, all pigs will continue to be inspected by an official veterinarian while they are alive, and their carcases and offal will be visually inspected by an official meat inspector or veterinarian after slaughter. Any abnormalities that indicate possible animal health, public health or welfare issues will be further investigated and removed before meat can be declared fit for human consumption.

Medicine: Research

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if the Health and Safety Executive will create a register of qualified professionals to ensure that clinical research is carried out safely;
	(2)  if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that clinical research is carried out by suitably qualified professionals.

Norman Lamb: The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for the enforcement of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and ensuring that
	“risks to people’s health and safety from work activities are properly controlled”.
	The Health Research Authority (HRA) ensures that ethically-approved clinical research is carried out by suitably qualified professionals through its arrangements for research ethics committee review. Research ethics committee review includes scrutiny of researchers’ suitability to conduct the research they are proposing. This review is required by departmental guidance, which applies to all health and adult social care research, and by legislation, for instance, in the case of clinical trials, by schedule 1 part 2(2) of the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/1031).
	The HRA publishes a register of research summaries, including a contact name (usually that of the chief investigator) and the research ethics committee’s opinion. The register is publicly available online at:
	www.nres.nhs.uk/researchsummaries
	From September 2013, registration of clinical trials in a publicly accessible database is a condition of the favourable ethical opinion given by a research ethics committee.

Organs: Donors

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to work with international counterparts to ensure the sharing of best practice to increase organ donation.

Jane Ellison: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT)-the United Kingdom organ donation organisation responsible for matching and allocating donated organs-actively participates and is involved in European Union initiatives to increase organ donation. This includes two current major European organ donation projects: the ACCORD (Achieving Comprehensive Coordination in Organ Donation) and FOEDUS (Facilitating the Exchange of Organs Donated in EU Member States) projects. NHSBT was also a collaborating partner for the completed ODEQUS (European Organ Donation Quality System) project.
	The UK drew heavily on evidence of world-wide success, such as in Spain, for the development and implementation of the Organ Donation Taskforce recommendations published in 2008, which saw donor rates rise by 50% in five years. A number of international experts from the Unites States of America, Germany and The Netherlands also contributed to the development of the UK’s new strategy published in 2013 “Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020”. A number of measures will be used to track improvements in performance in organ donation and transplantation to compare with international benchmarks, in order to try and match the best performing programmes in the world.

TREASURY

Building Societies

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish the results of the consultations on bail-in order for building societies; and if he will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government are currently analysing the responses to the consultation on bail-in secondary legislation. Once this review is completed, the Government will publish a summary of the responses and indicate how they plan to proceed.

Children: Day Care

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance his Department issues to employers on helping employees with the cost of childcare.

Nicky Morgan: HM Revenue and Customs has published extensive guidance to help employers run successful child care schemes, including the Employer Helpbook E18 ‘How you can help your employees with childcare'.

Minimum Wage

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date each of the 25 firms named and shamed for breach of the national minimum wage by his Department on 8 June 2014 was issued with the relevant Notice of Underpayment of the minimum wage by HM Revenue and Customs.

Jennifer Willott: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The dates that the Notice of Underpayments (NoU) were issued for the 25 firms named and shamed for breach of the national minimum wage (NMW) are as follows.
	
		
			 Month NoUs 
			 December 2013 1 
			 January 2014 9 
			 February 2014 10 
			 March 2014 4 
			 April 2014 1 
		
	
	They were issued under the revised Naming Scheme which was introduced on 1 October 2013. It takes time for cases to work their way through the system as there is a process to follow before an employer can be named. If HMRC investigates an employer that is breaking NMW law they will be issued with a Notice of Underpayment (NOU) by HMRC. An employer has 28 days to appeal against the NOU and 14 days from when the case closes to make representations to BIS.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications for the Help to Buy scheme have been for (a) shared equity, (b) shared ownership, (c) mutual housing and (d) self-build properties since the scheme was launched.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government do not collect data on the number of applications made under the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme.
	The Government publish quarterly official statistics relating to the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme. The first of these were published on 29 May 2014.
	This report, along with accompanying tables, can be found at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-to-buy-mortgage-guarantee-scheme-quarterly-statistics-october-2013-to-march-2014
	The Help to Buy: equity loan scheme is a shared equity scheme. At Budget 2014, the Government announced that they will seek to explore how they can make the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme available for custom build.
	Statistics on the legal completions supported by the equity loan scheme are published monthly at:
	www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-monthly-statistics

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to offer a stamp duty holiday to people who will be required to sell their property and purchase another as a result of High Speed 2.

David Gauke: The Government announced in April an extensive compensation and assistance package for property owners close to the route of HS2.
	There is no separate treatment of SDLT for individuals purchasing a property after their property has been compulsorily purchased by a public body.
	However, owner occupiers within the ‘surface safeguarded area’ and those who are eligible for the Express Purchase scheme will be entitled to reasonable moving costs, including surveyors’ fees, legal fees and stamp duty land tax on a replacement property of similar value.

VAT

Christopher Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish details of the Government's proposed legislation to provide for a controlled release of non-financial VAT registration data for specific purposes.

David Gauke: holding answer 24 June 2014
	: The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill, introduced today on 25 June, includes a clause making provision that allows HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to release non-financial VAT registration data to qualifying organisations for the purposes of assessing credit worthiness, risk of fraud or compliance with financial regulations.
	Research indicates that this has the potential to release up to £1.8 billion worth of additional trade credit. Taking into account the differing circumstances of individual businesses, we estimate an actual take-up of between £0.7 and £1.4 billion.

Venture Capital

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 160W, on venture capital, what steps he has taken to support crowdfunding and peer-to-peer (a) lending to and (b) investment in small businesses; and if he will assess the value of such forms of finance to the small and medium-size sector.

Andrea Leadsom: Crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending are innovative new forms of finance that support competition in the business lending sector.
	The Government have taken a number of steps to support their growth, including bringing peer-to-peer lending within the scope of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and announcing that the range of products that can be held in stocks and shares ISAs will be expanded to include loans made through peer-to-peer platforms.
	The Government also operate two tax-advantaged venture capital schemes which are used by equity crowdfunding investors: the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).
	The Government have not made any assessment of the value of investment in small and medium-sized businesses from peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding platforms.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Disadvantaged: EU Grants and Loans

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much of the EU's Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived he has allocated to public bodies and non-governmental organisations in 2014;
	(2)  how much of the EU's Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived he intends to allocate to public bodies and non-governmental organisations in each year between 2014 and 2020.

Esther McVey: No allocations have yet been made.

National Insurance

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) new national insurance numbers registered and (b) new workers in (i) Bury St Edmunds constituency, (ii) Suffolk and (iii) England and Wales in the latest period for which figures are available.

Esther McVey: Information on the number of national insurance numbers registered to individuals including new workers, via constituency, county and country, can be found at:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
	Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
	https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

National Insurance Contributions Office: Newcastle Upon Tyne

Andrew McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason Newcastle was chosen as the National Insurance centre for residents of Middlesbrough; and what effect this choice is having on service provision.

Esther McVey: Newcastle was chosen as the national insurance centre for residents of Middlesbrough as it has centralised expertise in administering applications for national insurance numbers. Given this expertise, proximity to Middlesbrough and availability of public transport, Newcastle provides a viable service that maintains the level of expertise and security required.

New Enterprise Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of employment and support allowance have been admitted to the new enterprise allowance scheme in each year since that scheme began.

Esther McVey: NEA was rolled out nationally in August 2011, with eligibility for JSA claimants only. Eligibility was broadened to ESA WRAG recipients in February 2013 although we expect the vast majority of participants to continue to be those claiming JSA.
	The benefit type of claimants admitted on new enterprise allowance (NEA) is not routinely recorded. Analysis has been conducted to identify NEA mentor starts by ESA claimants since eligibility for NEA was opened up on 18 February 2013. The results are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Estimated number of NEA mentor starts by ESA claimants in each calendar year 
			  Estimated number 
			 18 February 2013 to 31 December 2013 630 
			 1 January 2014 to 31 March 2014 210 
			 Notes: 1. Figures rounded to the nearest 10 2. Data available to 31 March 2014 3. More than 99% of mentor starts were matched to an appropriate benefit record Source: DWP National Benefits Database and Opportunities Database

New Enterprise Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many start up loans have been approved by his Department for participants on the new enterprise allowance scheme in each year since that scheme began.

Esther McVey: Following a trailblazer started in January 2011, new enterprise allowance was launched in April 2011 creating 46,000 new businesses between April 2011 and March 2014.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of loans that have been made on behalf of DWP under the new enterprise allowance scheme 
			 Year (January-December) Number of loans 
			 2011 910 
			 2012 5,140 
			 2013 7,711 
			 2014 472 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of new enterprise allowance loans that have been made since October 2013 under the Start Up Loans scheme administered by BIS 
			 Year (January-December) Number of loans 
			 2013 158 
			 2014 1,805

New Enterprise Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on the new enterprise allowance in each year since the scheme began.

Esther McVey: Following a trailblazer started in January 2011, new enterprise allowance was launched in April 2011 creating 46,000 new businesses between April 2011 and March 2014. Expenditure on new enterprise allowance in each year since the scheme began up to March 2014 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 New enterprise allowance 
			  £ 
			 2010-11 45,600 
			 2011-12 14,384,781 
			 2012-13 38,853,998 
			 2013-14 64,358,727 
		
	
	This includes capital loan payments which will be repaid within three years.

Nurseries

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to help its employees who use on-site nurseries to find alternative childcare when these close from September 2014.

Michael Penning: The following steps have been taken to support DWP employees affected by the on site nursery closures:
	At least six months notice of the closures given to users of the nurseries, in order to give them sufficient time to find a suitable alternative place. All contract expiry dates coincide with the beginning of the new school year to minimise disruption for parents and children as much as possible.
	Employees have been provided with information regarding the DWP salary sacrifice scheme, where employees can give up part of their salary in return for childcare vouchers. This allows for savings through tax relief and gives parents support in order to make their own choices for child care.
	Information, on other nurseries in their local areas, has been provided to parents
	DWP has awarded one day’s paid special leave to give parents paid time off work to find an alternative place.

Nurseries

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether employees of his Department’s Child Maintenance Group will be compensated for the loss of their childcare subsidy.

Steve Webb: Five Child Maintenance Group on-site nurseries are due to close on expiry of the contract at the end of September 2014. They are located at offices in Birkenhead, Dudley, Falkirk, Hastings and Plymouth.
	Child Maintenance Group child care subsidy was made no longer available to new entrants from 1 June 2012. This brings Child Maintenance Group into line with the Department’s policy on child care subsidy.
	As part of its remuneration package, the Department supports employees through a salary sacrifice scheme where employees can give up part of their salary in return for child care vouchers. This scheme allows for significant savings through tax relief and gives parents support in order to make their own choices for child care.
	Employees affected by the closure of the five on-site nurseries have been offered a day’s special leave in order to look for suitable alternatives.

Occupational Health

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what date he expects the Health and Work Service to start operations.

Michael Penning: Implementation will begin in late 2014 and the details will be confirmed when the chosen supplier has been appointed.

Personal Independence Payment

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many personal independence payment applicants are awaiting an assessment centre appointment in (a) Airdrie and Shotts constituency, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) England; and what the average waiting time for such appointments is.

Michael Penning: The information you have requested is not available.
	Information regarding Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Office.

Personal Independence Payment

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what average time was taken between an application for personal independence payment being made and receipt of payment for claims made in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) England in each year since introduction of personal independence payment;
	(2)  what average time was taken between an application for personal independence payment being made and receipt of payment for claims made in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority area in each year since introduction of personal independence payment.

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the average time taken to resolve personal independence payment claims is; and for how long the longest outstanding personal independence claim has been awaiting resolution;
	(2)  how many personal independence payment claims had not had a decision more than four weeks after receipt by his Department.

Michael Penning: The information you have requested is not currently available. Statistics on clearance times are intended for future publication but releasing them at this stage would give an incorrect representation of the process since the system has not yet reached maturity, and further quality assurance of the data is required.
	Information regarding Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Office.

Social Security Benefits: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claimants in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) Nottingham, have been sanctioned in the last (i) six and (ii) 12 months.

Esther McVey: The information for JSA and ESA sanctions is published at:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
	New sanctions rules came into force for JSA and ESA from 22 October 2012 and 3 December 2012. The number of JSA sanctions applied for the new regime is the number of low, intermediate, and high level referrals where the decision was found against the claimant. Further information can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jobseekers-allowance-overview-of-sanctions-rules

Social Security Benefits: Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants in Preston constituency are being sanctioned for (a) jobseeker's allowance and (b) employment and support allowance.

Esther McVey: The information requested is published and available at:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
	New sanctions rules came into force for JSA from 22 October 2012 and ESA from 3 December 2012. The number of JSA sanctions applied for the new regime is the number of low, intermediate, and high level referrals where the decision was found against the claimant. Further information can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jobseekers-allowance-overview-of-sanctions-rules

Universal Credit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what sanctions his Department uses on universal credit claimants who refuse a zero hours contract.

Esther McVey: Universal credit means that claimants can accept any offer of work without fear of their benefits or the support they receive from the jobcentre being negatively affected. They will always be better off in work.
	All claimants are expected to accept reasonable offers of employment. If they do not then they may be referred for a sanction. This is the same for UC.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the additional annual cost of introducing a taper on (a) an occupational pension and (b) other unearned income into universal credit set at 95 per cent.

Esther McVey: When universal credit is fully rolled out, a 95% taper on occupational pension is estimated to cost an additional £50 million per annum. A 95% taper on all other unearned income (excluding occupational pension) is estimated to cost an additional £300 million per annum. These estimates are in 2014-15 prices.
	The general principle in universal credit is that income other than earnings which is provided to meet everyday living costs is taken fully into account in the calculation of the award of benefit. Universal credit is designed to be responsive to the actual amount of income a claimant receives each month, to ensure people get help when they need it and can budget effectively. This approach also keeps administrative costs down and provides simpler rules for treatment of unearned income.